What did you do today?

[Augsburger]

Awesome story Wayne. You are the Santa.

[boomana]

Awesome story Wayne. You are the Santa.

Yup. Hope you got some good cookies.

[Bigguy]

Went to iHop for breakfast then saw Tron. Rain, rain and more rain.

[Knuckledragger]

Did not sleep nearly enough. Woke up, uh, "dehydrated." Showered. Called Grandma. Attempted to eat. Attempted to nap. Managed to fall alseep briefly before mum called, reminding me I was late to dinner. Had dinner with mum. Watched Dr. Horrible's Sing Along Blog with her. She quite liked it. Talked with mum for a bit. This is the first Christmas since my stepfather died. It's been a mixed bag for her. Came home. Finally got off my ass and set up my bedside rig (Macintop -> Pico DAC -> GLite + DPS -> HD-590s or whatever.) Now listening to a 20 Years of Metroplex 1985-2005 Detroit techno compilation. Holy electro snare drums, Batman.

[Wmcmanus]

Went to see the kid at the hospital tonight, along with my reindeer, who was a big hit with everyone we passed by.

He seemed to be in pretty decent shape, all things considered, but everything was covered up with bandages. All of the knife wounds were to his arms and on one of his shoulders, fortunately. The same nurse who called me in the morning had left a message at the desk for me to call her again before going in to see him. She thanked me for coming but asked me not to ask him any questions (not that I would have).

Apparently he was attacked by his 14 year old sister for some unknown reason. The mother heard the screams and had to throw a chair at her to knock her down so she wouldn't get stabbed herself. Then she sat on her daughter until the police and ambulance arrived. The boy lost a lot of blood and was in shock. He was stabbed or slashed 11 times but only two of them were severe because it was a small bread/steak knife??? (not sure) and thankfully she didn't hit any critical arteries. She was swinging wildly as opposed to purposefully trying to "stab" as such. The mother was the only witness, and she just saw the tail end of it.

Nobody knows why it happened. They think maybe the girl had some sort of nightmare and then was sleep walking. She has no history of mental illness or violence and by all accounts he's a nice, quiet kid and she has always adored him as her little brother. She has no memory of it at all, so now they're trying to figure out what to do with her. The whole thing is rather strange.

He just kind of stared vacantly at me and Rudolph at first, then he smiled when I pointed at Rudolph's nose and it turned red. But I think he was still heavily medicated. We didn't spend nearly as much time in there as I thought we would, maybe 2-3 minutes. His grandmother and aunt were there keeping an eye on him and they tried to get him to interact with Santa but I think he was still overwhelmed by it all.

Poor Tian, my 17 year old Rudolph, who has a heart of gold and wants to be a nurse herself one day. She cried her eyes out all the way back to her mom's house, saying how she couldn't understand how something like this could happen to a little boy.

Just wow... what a depressing way to end the season. I'm always depressed at this time of the year, but mostly because I have to go back to being just me and not somebody that makes kids shiver and shake with excitement. I always miss their laughter and the excited eyes. But this year, all I'll be able to think about (for a while anyway) was how utterly helpless I felt and how odd it felt not to know what to say.

Oh well, at least I showed up and gave it a shot. If nothing else, the grandmother was excited to see us and anxious to take pictures.

[PFKMan23]

Wayne,

Just holy crap. That's horrible.

[The Monkey]

Battening down the hatches for the approaching blizzard. My son got a kitchen play set from Santa (read grandparents) that's going to require time, patience, and mucho beer to put together. Then the Jets game and lots of screaming. Should be a nice day.

[swt61]

I actually love putting together stuff like that. I missed my calling.

[Knuckledragger]

Just moved a lawn tractor that was frozen in place. Of course, the working lawn tractor, that I just paid $FUCK_TON to have serviced, refused to start. I ended up jury rigging a chain to the Subaru's tow point in the back. No good deed goes unpunished.

[cetoole]

Bought a much earlier bus ticket home so I could actually get home today. Made good time, in the Lincoln tunnel right now, it snowed lightly on the way but nothing like it will likely be around 7pm when my first bus tickets should have had me here.

[n_maher]

Just moved a lawn tractor that was frozen in place. Of course, the working lawn tractor, that I just paid $FUCK_TON to have serviced, refused to start. I ended up jury rigging a chain to the Subaru's tow point in the back. No good deed goes unpunished.

I just went dbl checked the tractor and put some more gas in it. All ready for the storm, which means it won't amount to squat.

[grawk]

tried to get my snow thrower started in anticipation of the coming snow. Recoil starter string broke off. Electric starter died. Took it apart to see if I could figure out what was wrong, and lost a spring. Emailed small engine repair shop.

[crappyjones123]

now i am really done with poker. i was up ~$335 on a 1-2 which is pretty damn good for an hours worth of playtime.

i get KQ (spades)

guy bets $12. i call.

flop comes K (club), Q(club), 2(spade)

guy bets $30. i raise to $60. he goes all in. i think, i call.

turn comes 4(spade)

river comes 8(spade)

i have king high flush. he wins the pot with A3(spades). what the fuck he was doing in that hand i have no fucking clue. times like these i hate trust fund babies who can just blow money out of their ass and not get affected by the outcomes.

currently eating 5 guys comfort burger.

[manaox2]

Got snowed in at home, power went out this morning and should be back on by midnight. Built a fire, shoveled the drive, picked up supplies aka fire logs and beer. We still have our laptops charged with extras batteries and 3g service. I reckon we will make out well with all the christmas leftovers before they get too warm.

[Beefy]

what the fuck he was doing in that hand i have no fucking clue. times like these i hate trust fund babies who can just blow money out of their ass and not get affected by the outcomes.

If everybody played 'properly' by the rules, then how would anybody win?

[Salt Peanuts]

Got home from my in-laws just in time for the storm. Assuming it actually comes down like it's supposed to, I'll be spending all day tomorrow shoveling.

[laxx]

Went out to my sisters to cook up a crown roast and some chestnut pancetta stuffing. Came home once it was done and drove VERY VERY slowly through the snow. Shoveled, ate, and now browsing the internets.

[boomana]

Had a great Christmas with the family. Friday night, my brother invited a childhood enemy over, along with his wife and little daughter, for a little party. I hadn't seen him in at least 35 years, probably more. We spent the whole night laughing about the fights we used to have in elementary and middle school, and catching up. Christmas was spent with happy kids bouncing off the walls. My brother has been divorced for a few years now, and he and his ex have finally created a pleasant truce, so even she came and hung out for much of the day. I also hadn't seen her for years. My folks were happy and healthy, the kids are at that age where its a joy to get to know them, and I don't remember a holiday ever going this well with my nutso family. Only my twin brother and his wife were missing, but that might have been a good thing. Today was spent lounging around, playing wih the kids, and eating too much. I'm now at the airport, watching the Giants get killed, and drinking a latte. Life is good.

Stay safe and warm, snow people.

[Dusty Chalk]

now i am really done with poker.

... i hate...

...losing?

Hey, take my giving you hard time with a grain of salt -- I have a gambling problem, too: I don't win. (They don't call it a problem if you win.)

[Augsburger]

Life is good, no tractors to mess with, no snow, no kids toys to assemble any more and plenty of Christmas leftovers including wine.

Stay safe y'all. New Years eve is going to be a Champagne orgy, woo hoo!

[crappyjones123]

dusty, im still up overall roughly $12k since i started. i stopped playing the big 7-15 games a long time ago. didnt have the stomach for the swings. walk away with 6k one night and lose 9k the next. now just play 1-2 for fun. hell the poker games paid for my honda civic (which was then given to my mom :facepalm: )

but i am sure i have a gambling problem. but i did call 1800admitit. wonder if their blocks really do anything.

[morphsci]

Had a great Christmas with the family. Friday night, my brother invited a childhood enemy over, along with his wife and little daughter, for a little party. I hadn't seen him in at least 35 years, probably more. We spent the whole night laughing about the fights we used to have in elementary and middle school, and catching up. Christmas was spent with happy kids bouncing off the walls. My brother has been divorced for a few years now, and he and his ex have finally created a pleasant truce, so even she came and hung out for much of the day. I also hadn't seen her for years. My folks were happy and healthy, the kids are at that age where its a joy to get to know them, and I don't remember a holiday ever going this well with my nutso family. Only my twin brother and his wife were missing, but that might have been a good thing. Today was spent lounging around, playing wih the kids, and eating too much. I'm now at the airport, watching the Giants get killed, and drinking a latte. Life is good.

Stay safe and warm, snow people.

That sounds like a great Christmas Vicky. Have a safe trip home.

[jvlgato]

Had a great Christmas with the family. Friday night, my brother invited a childhood enemy over, along with his wife and little daughter, for a little party. I hadn't seen him in at least 35 years, probably more. We spent the whole night laughing about the fights we used to have in elementary and middle school, and catching up. Christmas was spent with happy kids bouncing off the walls. My brother has been divorced for a few years now, and he and his ex have finally created a pleasant truce, so even she came and hung out for much of the day. I also hadn't seen her for years. My folks were happy and healthy, the kids are at that age where its a joy to get to know them, and I don't remember a holiday ever going this well with my nutso family. Only my twin brother and his wife were missing, but that might have been a good thing. Today was spent lounging around, playing wih the kids, and eating too much. I'm now at the airport, watching the Giants get killed, and drinking a latte. Life is good.

Stay safe and warm, snow people.

[Driftwood]

Flight was cancelled due to weather although it seems the weather situation wasn't really that bad in MD. Hopefully I'll be able to get back tomorrow.

[guzziguy]

Did an after-Christmas outing with my family (sister, brother, his wife and the husband of my late sister). We went went whale watching out of Ventura harbor. We saw 4 California Gray Whales, a bunch of Common Dolphins and even more California Sea Lions. It was a great day for everybody, except my sister-in-law. She was terribly seasick from the moment we left the harbor. She was still feeling bad when we left Ventura harbor. I hope that she is feeling better by now.